Toy knitting machines have been previously designed. One known machine is produced by Tomy Company Ltd. of Japan. This machine utilizes a hand operated crank to rotate a knitting mechanism that is mounted within a housing to create a knitted product. The entire knitting mechanism is separate from the housing thereby requiring that the knitting mechanism be assembled into the housing in a relatively complicated assembly process requiring a relatively large number of assembly steps. Another known knitting machine is produced by the Bandai Company of Japan. The Bandai machine includes a knitting mechanism that is assembled into a housing, with a portion of the housing being rotatable to actuate the knitting mechanism. Like the Tomy machine, the entire knitting mechanism of the Bandai machine must be assembled into the housing in a complicated assembly process.
The knitting mechanisms in the Tomy and Bandai machines are each separate from the machine housings and the components of the knitting mechanisms must be assembled into the housings. In the case of the Tomy machine, the majority of the knitting mechanism is first assembled into a subassembly which must then be positioned into the housing. However, upon positioning within the housing, the subassembly can potentially be located incorrectly, resulting in an incorrect assembly of the machine. The construction of the Bandai machine requires that each individual component of the knitting mechanism must be assembled into the housing, which can result in an incorrect assembly if the components are not positioned correctly within the housing.
Furthermore, the housings of the Tomy and Bandai machines each include a lower housing portion that encloses substantially the entire knitting mechanism and a transparent upper housing portion that is detachably fitted onto the lower housing portion to enable viewing of the knitting mechanism during operation. The upper housing portion, when fitted to the lower housing portion, serves to trap and guide the yarn during knitting. Since the upper housing portion is detachable, it can easily become lost or misplaced, meaning that it can no longer trap and guide the yarn, thereby rendering the machine useless.
What is needed is an improved toy knitting machine that resolves these and other deficiencies of conventional toy knitting machines, as well as providing many added benefits and features not found in conventional toy knitting machines.